Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Counter Acting

The arts contain numerous paradoxes. That's particularly true for the art of acting. Those who master it know to play on the opposite of what is called for, thereby enhancing it, as if real acting is counter acting.

I love this blog post! Especially the idea of acting as being ura. However, there are times when omote is present...Aikido and acting are remarkably the same...I disagree that acting is about 'lying'. I understand acting as being the character's 'truth'. Lying suggests pretending. As an actor you must 'be'. In life we suppress strong emotions. We learn to do so at a very early age in order to be socially appropriate. Drama "holds a mirror up to nature". I am not lying when I try to suppress the level of drunkeness/anger/love, I am protecting myself from embarrassment/shame/rejection. What is beautiful about the skilled actor, is the ability to release just enough of the truth to allow the audience to feel the tug-of-war within. I worked as a professional actress for 10 years. The year I stopped I started practicing Aikido. The connection between the two never fails to captivate me:)

Many thanks for your enlightening comment. I agree with you, and I think of Aristotle's conception of mimesis, which is also the way we humans learn from our predecessors. It's how knowledge is passed on. Not a bad thing.

I can see how you naturally find aikido to substitute acting, just as well as the opposite would work. I trained actor students in aikido, a number of years back, and I found them particularly talented with the mimesis necessary. That can take you very far, indeed.

Hi Jude,I don't know you, but from reading what you wrote I tend to believe, that you are still more an actress than an aikidoka. Maybe I'm wrong, never been an actress, just the opposite.Wish you a nice sundayCarina

About Me

I'm an author, artist, historian of ideas, and aikido instructor. I have also worked as a journalist for Swedish newspapers. I was a literature critic in Aftonbladet, a rock and theater critic in Dagens Nyheter, and the secret restaurant critic in Sydsvenskan. As an historian of ideas at Lund University, I write a dissertation on the thought patterns in creation myths.

My books are both fiction and non-fiction. Among the latter are books about Taoism, aikido, Tarot, mythology, and astrology. Some of them are only in Swedish, but I have written an increasing number of books in English.